WHATIFTHEWORLD is delighted to present a selection of works by contemporary artists Dan Halter, Michele Mathison, Gerhard Marx, Chris Soal, Pierre Vermeulen, and Ben Orkin. Each artist presents a unique engagement with everyday materials and objects, transforming them into symbols imbued with new meaning and significance inspired by a distinct South African context.

Through unique mediums and approaches, these artists reflect on the complexities of everyday objects, including themes of displacement, human connection, and fragmentation. Disruptors of the norm, each artist offers insight into the notion of impermanence in today’s fractured, multi-layered, and nuanced reality.

A continent in flux; Dan Halter transforms the familiarity of paper into sculptural weavings that touch on themes of both the personal and political. His hand-woven creations highlight the post-colonial dynamics of a broader African reality, drawing inspiration from his experiences in Zimbabwe and South Africa to examine the notion of dislocated national identity. Expanding conventional understandings of form and spatial awareness is Chris Soal, whose poetic abstractions and use of discarded materials challenge our perceptions of value and medium. Soal’s works reveal the uncanny qualities of the everyday while also highlighting Johannesburg’s socio-economic landscape, inviting a deeply tactile and embodied experience.

Inspired by the migration of people and resources, Michele Mathison shifts his focus on themes of decay, labour, and economic inequality, as witnessed in the ever-changing South African political landscape. His approach reflects the tension between personal identity and regional social dynamics, balancing forms that are both abstract and minimal, grounded yet airy. Ben Orkin’s intricate ceramic vessels emphasise fragility and human connection, delving into the complexities of queer intimacy. His sculptures reveal the nuanced dynamics of love and resistance, dependency and separation, transforming his textured ceramics into profound vessels of emotional expression. Pierre Vermeulen’s works blur the boundaries between the symbolic and the physical as he explores the body as a creative source, using unconventional materials and innovative techniques to challenge ideas of degradation and renewal. His alchemical approach to painting incorporates elements like sweat and human hair as primary mediums, inviting contemplative reflections on the body and ritual.

Gerhard Marx completes the booth’s exploration of materiality and fragmentation. His dissection and reassembly of maps create what he refers to as ‘spatial imaginaries,’ highlighting the complex layers of history and perception in relation to land and space. Together, these artists create a space for dialogue—between histories, bodies, objects, and spaces—that allow viewers to reflect on the layered realities of contemporary South Africa and beyond.